On Far From the Madding Crowd
Steinbecks’ songwriters, brothers Josh & Joel Meadows, team
up with their cousin Tali White (Lucksmiths, Guild League)
to craft one of the first shining pop gems of the
post-Candle Melbourne pop scene.

The Meadows brothers have been writing
and singing songs about things that matter to them for
longer than either care to remember, but Far From the
Madding Crowd marks the first time the brothers have
written and recorded with their cousin.

Two songs on the album – ‘The Doppler
Effect’, a powerful pop punch that dissects the city/country
relationship, and the gorgeous ‘Have You Ever Looked After a
Song?’ – are sung and co-written by White.

Other stand-outs include opener ‘1987 +
1994 = 2007’, in which the ’becks somehow manage to blend
the sensibilities of the Pet Shop Boys with the sensuality
of Pavement, and the angsty nature hymn, ‘Moon & Stars’.

Musically the record has echoes of Nick
Drake, Lloyd Cole, My Morning Jacket, The Chills and Big
Star. Lyrically, the ‘becks tackle questions as diverse as:
what happens to modern society when the oil runs out? why
is compromise not a dirty word when you’re in love? will we
ever learn to learn from the past? and if you could go back
to being a teenager, would you?

The world is in a mess, The Steinbecks
seem to acknowledge, but faith, hope and love remain.
Far From the Madding Crowd exists within this reality
and tries to tell the story of it through the only medium
The Steinbecks know: the pop song.

Background
on the band

The
Steinbecks emerged in 1994 from the ashes of seminal early
’90s pop combo The Sugargliders. The ’gliders released a
string of singles and one album for legendary English pop
label, Sarah Records.

Far From
the Madding Crowd
is The Steinbecks’ fifth record after At Home and Abroad
with The Steinbecks (1995), From the Wrestling Chair
to the Sea (1997), Recorded Music Salon (2000)
and Branches and Fronds Brushing the Windows (2004).

The
Steinbecks are the Meadows brothers plus Gizo (bass) and
Jerry Rinse (drums), with regular assistance on keys from
the Daytime Frequency’s Matt Sigley.

Far From
the Madding Crowd
is released by Popboomerang in Australia and Microindie in
the USA.